Homeless Woman Sparks Outrage for Spending Public Assistance at Host Bars—‘The Authorities Approved It

Manami, whose facial features are strikingly defined, is a quarter Japanese American. “I have relatives in California,” she says.

Have you heard of “Homeless Manami”?

She frequently appears on the YouTube channel Boo Channel, which delivers the realities of Kabukicho, and casually talks about “going to host clubs while receiving public assistance,” sparking a lot of controversy. We decided to speak with her directly.

“Hello~”

Arriving right on time, Manami was escorted by the YouTube production staff.

“When you like, go ahead and order,” they prompted her, and she ordered a mega-sized cola, grilled rice balls, and fried chicken cartilage. Eating energetically, she seemed childlike and charming.

Homelessness, receiving welfare while visiting host clubs, street solicitation, arrests.

Her background is so extreme that it’s hard to know where to start, but we first asked about how she got hooked on host clubs.

Her boyfriend, whom she was living with, pushed her to work in a soapland

“When I was 20, I started dating a customer who came to the sex cabaret I worked at, and we ended up living together. Then he said, ‘I’m going to be a host!’ and invited me to go with him for a trial shift. That’s when I first went to a host club and I got hooked. At the sex cabaret, I was earning over 500,000 yen a month, but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep up with playing at host clubs.”

Manami said he urged her to spend more money and encouraged her to work at a soapland. “If it were now, he’d probably be arrested!” she laughed heartily.

“In short, I was pushed into the soapland. After that, for two years, I worked six days a week from morning till night. Except for my first month, I was always No.2. I made just under three million yen a month, but I spent it all at his club, so I ended up with nothing.”

Working six days a week, having sex with 10 people for 14 hours straight, and feeling broken

For two years, Manami kept working at a soapland to earn money for her host boyfriend, and in the end, she says she broke down.

“Working 14 hours a day with 10 clients, earning nearly 3 million yen but always broke. I constantly felt like everyone was telling me to die. One day, on impulse, I jumped into a street in Ueno. Passersby helped me, and I ended up being admitted to a psychiatric hospital.”

After discharge, she shared a room with friends but was kicked out, spending her days moving between manga cafés and hotels. Around this time, she started calling herself “Homeless Manami.” Her income came from street hustling and support from former clients from her sex work days. She casually said, “I got arrested four times while doing street hustling.”

“When I stood at Okubo Park, a man would ask, ‘How much?’ and I’d say ‘15,000 yen.’ When we arrived at the hotel, the police would show their badges. All my arrests happened this way.”

Normally, detention lasts about 10 days, but for the fourth arrest, it was considered serious, and she was held for two months, she said with a wry smile.

“They kept asking, ‘Why again?’ Why? Simply because it was profitable. When you work at a sex shop, half your earnings go to the store, but with street hustling, you name your price. The client may even pay less than going to a shop. That’s why there are still girls doing it.”

A few years ago, she was also arrested for theft.

“At a bar in Kabukicho, I took a card from a drunk customer sleeping at closing time. I tried to buy cigarettes and take a taxi home, but the card didn’t work anymore. If I had kept it, I wouldn’t have been caught, but I left it in the car, so they immediately knew it was me.”

She still has one year left on her suspended sentence, and she said seriously, “If I do something again, I’ll really go to prison.”

Disposable money is only 30,000 yen per month

“The last time I went to a host club was around June. Something happened, and I was almost banned”

The something refers to the repeatedly discussed smell issue on YouTube.

“One week I didn’t change my underwear before going out drinking, and when I used the restroom, it seems it smelled, so the staff warned my host through the office. At that time, I liked him and didn’t want to be unable to see him, so I switched to diapers and improved it.”

However, it seems her relationship with that host also ended, and she said, “I don’t have any favorites anymore, so I really haven’t been to host clubs.” According to Manami, the social welfare office hasn’t forbidden me from going to hosts using public assistance.

“They said it’s fine to go to hosts within the limits of welfare, but they asked me not to post about it on social media. They never said I absolutely couldn’t go.”

Since she talked on YouTube about going to hosts using welfare, the welfare office reportedly receives daily complaints like, “Cut off Manami’s benefits!”

“The criticism from viewers is intense. People assume going to a host club means spending a lot of money, but I actually spend only 20,000 yen. Most people on welfare get about 120,000 yen a month, but I only get 40,000 yen a month.”

Why so little?

“After deducting the shelter rent and common fees from the payment, only 40,000 yen remains. Then, after paying 10,000 yen for my phone, I’m left with only 30,000 yen.”

With only 30,000 yen, spending 20,000 yen at a host club leaves only 10,000 yen. How does she manage food and other expenses?

“On weekdays, I get meals at the ‘Hitsuji Café,’ run by an NPO, so I basically don’t spend on food. Even so, that’s an annual income of just 480,000 yen. Living alone and working would obviously be better. I envy people who live normally.”

Manami wants to live independently, but it’s difficult. She was previously evicted after two years of unpaid rent, which her parents covered.

“I brought it on myself, but they said, ‘You can’t have a guarantor anymore.’ My grandfather would act as a guarantor, but he’s too old. My father says, ‘Come home,’ but my mother yells, ‘Get out!’ My birth mother passed away, and my stepmother gets mentally unstable when I return.”

Manami also had a younger sister who passed away as a child due to an incident.

Currently unemployed, Manami wants to work and has applied to multiple restaurants like Matsuya and Sukiya but hasn’t had any luck.

“In the sex industry, they said I have to lose weight to be hired, so I was rejected. But now I want a normal job. The welfare office says, ‘Find a place to live before working,’ but without a guarantor and being unemployed, it’s tough, so I can’t leave welfare—that’s my reality.”

When asked if she regrets spending so much at host clubs, she replied, “I don’t regret it.”

“I earned so much but saved nothing, yet I had fun, so I have no regrets. I do get harsh comments on YouTube, but I try to live my life the best I can.”

Manami said this positively and headed toward Shinjuku Station.